SEASONS
How many of you are fans of change? If I were to guess, I would say most of us do not like change, except for the kind that we can control. Change can be very challenging, even when we have planned for it and believe we are prepared for it. There is always a “curveball” moment in the midst of change. Something that inevitably happens that interrupts the normal rhythm and flow of our everyday lives. Some “curveballs” can be good, but for the most part, all “curveballs” are things we are not expecting. Life is full of twists and turns, loops and setbacks, and it is how we react and adjust to life’s “curveball” moments that define how we will align with God’s purpose in our lives. How we transition through the different seasons in our lives will help us to be obedient to God’s calling. The definition of transition is: the process of changing from one season or condition to another. This is what Solomon had to say about transitions and seasons of life:
“For everything there is a season, a time for every activity under heaven. 2A time to be born and a time to die. A time to plant and a time to harvest. 3A time to kill and a time to heal. A time to tear down and a time to build up. 4A time to cry and a time to laugh. A time to grieve and a time to dance. 5A time to scatter stones and a time to gather stones. A time to embrace and a time to turn away. 6A time to search and a time to quit searching. A time to keep and a time to throw away. 7A time to tear and a time to mend. A time to be quiet and a time to speak. 8A time to love and a time to hate. A time for war and a time for peace. 9What do people really get for all their hard work? 10I have seen the burden God has placed on us all. 11Yet God has made everything beautiful for its own time. He has planted eternity in the human heart, but even so, people cannot see the whole scope of God’s work from beginning to end.” - Ecclesiastes 3:1-11
Here Solomon is reminding us that God has purpose and intentionality for every season, for every time, for every phase, and for every single moment of our lives including those “curveball” moments we experience through change. As we discern the seasons of our lives, we are then equipped to connect the correct actions and correct thoughts for the season we are living in. We must remember that this is not a life without hardships and challenges, but one in which we face an enemy daily on the battlefield, and that enemy can throw a wicked “curveball”. But know that it is ultimately God who equips us to be able to handle the “curveball” moments. There is grace given to us for every season, and there is a grace on our lives for the “curveball”. Transitions in life can move us from being single to married, from having one career to another, from living in one state to another, from having kids to your kids having kids, etc. There are always transitions we must navigate through in life and every single one of them have the potential to throw us a “curveball”. Moving from certainty to uncertainty can be daunting, but I encourage you to stay focused on where you are headed. You may not be able to control the circumstances of the outside world but you most certainly can control the circumstances of your thought life, and it is our thoughts that move us to action. The apostle Paul says it like this:
“Do not be conformed to this world but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.” -Romans 12:2
What Paul wrote here helps us to understand that the renewing of our minds can sometimes mean changing behaviors. Do not be conformed but be transformed. Sometimes we have to surrender our identities in transition and adopt a new identity, one where we substitute our priorities with God’s purpose. Gentlemen, what this means is that we must buy in to the fact that no matter what happens in life, we are created to glorify God in all we do. It is for that reason and that reason alone, that we live lives ready for the “curveball” moments we face in transitioning seasons. How? You say. Well, just like in baseball, you train yourself in the batting cage. Train yourself by getting into the Word, staying in the Word, and applying the Word to your life! God has given us the playbook and all we need to do is read it, memorize it, and execute it. Doing that is what prepares us, trains us, and equips us to handle life’s “curveball” moments with grace, dignity, patience, poise, and most of all with love in our hearts knowing that what God has given to us in life is by design to prosper us, bless us, and ultimately to give us everlasting life with our Father in heaven!
There is nothing like the feeling of being prepared at the plate when the enemy throws you a “curveball” and you hit it out of the park. Rounding the bases with confidence in your steps and the Father’s overwhelming love in your heart. And at last, rounding 3rd,and looking up to see God calling you home with open arms! Hit that “curveball” men!